If it wasn't purified, Liu Sheng wouldn't dare to take this weird object out of its container, let alone hold it in her hand and play with it.
Afterward, Tao Tao began to mix some strange potions, simmering them on a small stove, emitting an unpleasant smell.
While the potion was still simmering, she picked up a vermilion brush and Talisman paper and began to draw Talismans.
Liu Sheng watched and quietly asked Tao Da, "Did your sister learn her purification technique at Xiao Xiang House?"
Mainly, judging by Tao Tao's demeanor, she was free and lazy, not like someone who worked for the government.
Tao Da's small, beady eyes flashed with a hint of vigilance, and he said, "Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious. The art of weird objects purification is not taught externally. Whether it's Xiao Xiang House or within the Weaving Institute system, it's held by specialists and absolutely not passed on," Liu Sheng said calmly.
Even Liu Sheng, who had spent two years in the Weaving Institute Imperial Storage, didn't know how the Weaving Bureau purified objects.
Generally, after weird objects are analyzed and contained, the Weaving Bureau will only retrieve them if their analytical documents show them to be of use. They are then purified and released for use.
"And this workbench is not something found everywhere," Liu Sheng pointed ahead and said something else that made Tao Da's heart pound.
Liu Sheng knew that only the Weaving Bureau possessed such technology.
"Who exactly are you?" Tao Da finally realized that Liu Sheng was not one of those ignorant Hunters of the Strange, and he asked vigilantly.
"Does it matter who I am?" Liu Sheng asked.
"It matters. If you're a government official, please forgive us, but we cannot do business with you," Tao Tao heard the conversation on this side, stopped what she was doing, and said seriously.
Since they were so candid, Liu Sheng certainly wouldn't tell the truth.
"I'm just an idle person now. If I were a government official, I wouldn't be looking for you. Wouldn't it be better to go to the Weaving Bureau? It's free and reliable."
What Liu Sheng said was also true.
An idle person, meaning a socially unattached individual.
【Is someone on leave without pay still considered part of the Weaving Institute?】
【No, because there is no actual employment relationship.】
Moreover, she wouldn't go to the Weaving Bureau to purify this item. After all, its origin was suspicious, and she might encounter the very person who targeted her if she took it there.
So, even though she knew Xiao Xiang House was gone, Liu Sheng still followed them to this place that resembled a black market shop.
Of course, there were other purposes.
The brother and sister exchanged glances, feeling that Liu Sheng's words were reasonable and she didn't seem to be lying.
"What's wrong? Do you have a grudge against government officials?" Liu Sheng asked with a light chuckle.
"If it weren't for the government, we wouldn't have to take these shady jobs in this small shop," Tao Tao turned her head, continued to focus on the Talisman in her hand, and said calmly.
Tao Tao remained relatively calm, but Tao Da couldn't. His already disheveled features became even more chaotic with anger.
"Hmph! It's all because of those people who reported Xiao Xiang House! It caused Xiao Xiang House to be sealed, and we lost our jobs."
"So you were originally from Xiao Xiang House," Liu Sheng confirmed.
"Yes," Tao Da no longer denied it this time. "I run a shop in Qinglan Mountain City, and Tao Tao specialized in the appraisal and purification of weird objects at Xiao Xiang House."
"Not appraisal, but analysis," Tao Tao corrected.
"Yes, yes, anyway, you were personally recruited into the House by the House Master, unlike me, who was outside the organization."
Tao Da spoke with considerable pride when mentioning his sister's job.
This also answered Liu Sheng's original question about who was responsible for what business between the siblings.
Liu Sheng hadn't expected that this accidentally encountered pirated "Xiaoxiang Building" would actually contain a genuine component of "Xiao Xiang House"?
Of course, everything was still based on the assumption that Tao Da and Tao Tao were not lying.
"Aren't you afraid I'll report you too?" Liu Sheng asked, directly expressing her doubt at their sudden candor.
She was always direct, as this method was more efficient for acquiring information.
"You asked, we answered. Isn't that reasonable?" Tao Tao was also very direct.
"Moreover, we're not afraid of you reporting us," Tao Da said with a sly smile. "We are just honest, law-abiding merchants. At most, we're just piggybacking on Xiao Xiang House's reputation. What crime have we committed?"
"You know we were once part of Xiao Xiang House, perhaps you'll trust us even more, and anything that benefits business, why not do it?"
"Even if we were once part of Xiao Xiang House, it was just a way to make a living. Although the government has now punished Xiao Xiang House, it hasn't said anything about harming the people within it," Tao Tao added.
She had now completed the Talisman in her hand. A flash of spiritual light appeared, and pure Qi diffused, clearly indicating extraordinary quality.
With a series of practiced unlocking movements, she released the contained object within the formation. The little bear weird object floated up, but it was bound by the formation, along with the Guai Qi on its body.
Then Tao Tao took the boiled potion and the Talisman and began to operate.
Liu Sheng admired the smooth, flowing operation and continued to ask, "So, now only the organization 'Xiao Xiang House' has been sealed, but the people inside haven't been pursued?"
"Exactly," Tao Da replied.
"All of the Xiao Xiang House are gone?" Liu Sheng asked in disbelief.
"I'm not sure. I only know that all those within Tang Country are gone," Tao Da shook his head and said.
"Since when?" Liu Sheng dimly grasped something.
"As I recall, it was the night the fiery meteor fell from the sky."
Tao Da recalled, "Yes, not just within the Great Tang, that night, we lost the Dongting Autumn Moon Map in Sultan."
Liu Sheng's face turned a little pale.
The xiaoxiang eight views map were interconnected. If all the Eight Views Maps within the territory were indeed abolished, it's no wonder Wen Weilan, trapped within the map, would be so elusive and untraceable, and had said she would "see her in Chang'an in a few days."
Could she be on her way?
"That wasn't a real fiery meteor," Tao Tao said, working with her head down, yet still interjecting to refute her brother.
"Why not?" Tao Da truly didn't understand.
Liu Sheng also wanted to know.
She even inexplicably recalled the old man who gave them roasted chicken and casually threw Flying Swords around that night.
Unfortunately, the conjecture could not be confirmed.
"The shape wasn't quite right. When it fell, it was hard and straight, not at all like the smooth, spherical trajectory of a falling comet."
Tao Tao's observations were indeed extremely meticulous.
"We all suspect that the Eight Views Map on the Sultan side was invaded by weird objects, and then the House Master used a method to actively destroy that Eight Views Map," Tao Tao said.
This was similar to the world's speculation.
Tao Tao was applying the potion to the little bear, its fur thoroughly soaked, and continued, "As a result, the next day, the Qinghe Xiao Xiang House was found to be in violation of food safety regulations, so it was abolished, including the 'Xiao Xiang Night Rain Map,' which was also taken away."
"Later, 'Qinglan Mountain City,' 'Evening Bell from Misty Temple,' 'Wild Geese Descending on a Sandbar,' and then 'Returning Sails from a Distant Shore' in Chang'an, were all sealed by the government for various strange reasons."
"The Xiao Xiang House in Chang'an was investigated because a noble person fell and broke her tailbone in the House, so it was cited for safety hazards."
"Such a reason shouldn't hold up for long, right?" Liu Sheng mused, "This kind of thing isn't a big deal. After rectification and elimination of hazards, it should reopen."
"We don't know, we hope so," Tao Da sighed dejectedly. "It's been two or three days already. We can only do some odd jobs to get by, waiting for the day Xiao Xiang House reopens."
"The key is, the House Master has also disappeared," Tao Tao said, her brows furrowed with worry.
Tao Da also said, "Now that Xiao Xiang House has lost its leader, it can only be bullied."
Liu Sheng's intuition became even clearer.
The House Master also disappeared?
Isn't that just like Wen Weilan?
Could it be that the Xiaoxiang House Master is with Wen Weilan?
Liu Sheng was startled by her own wild guess.
But she didn't know she was actually right.